Refuse compactor ram cover

ABSTRACT

A refuse compactor particularly for household use having a receiver for the refuse, a refuse compacting ram movable into and out of the receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and an end cover on the ram body engaging the refuse during the compacting movement and movable latch means accessible when the ram is at rest on the outside of the receiver for releasably attaching the ram cover to the ram body so that the cover may be removed when desired for cleaning and other servicing.

United States Patent Michael J. Bottas St. Joseph;

Charles R. Difley, Niles; Frank E. Miller, 'St. Joseph, all of Mich.

Nov. 13, 1969 Oct. 19, 1971 Whirlpool Corporation Inventors Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee REFUSE COMPACTOR RAM COVER 13 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 100/229, 100/295 Int. Cl B30b 15/66 Field of Search 100/229, 295, 229 A; 53/124; 141/71, 73

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,998,166 4/1935 Nelson 100/295 2,984,176 5/1961 Sommer et al 100/295 UX 3,229,618 l/1966 O'Connor 100/295 X 3,537,390 11/1970 Hinkel et a1. 100/295 X Primary Examiner-Billy J. Wilhite Attorneys-James S. Nettleton, Thomas E. Turcotte, Burton H. Baker, Gene A. Heth, Franklin C. Harter, Anthony Niewyk, Robert L. Judd and Hofgren, Wegner, Allen, Stellman and McCord ABSTRACT: A refuse compactor particularly for household use having a receiver for the refuse, a refuse compacting ram movable into and out of the receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and an end cover on the ram body engaging the refuse during the compacting movement and movable latch means accessible when the ram is at rest on the out side of the receiver for releasably attaching the ram cover to the ram body so that the cover may be removed when desired for cleaning and other servicing.

REFUSE COMPACTOR RAM COVER One of the features of this invention is to provide a refuse compactor including a compacting ram movable into and out of a receiver to compact refuse therein in which the ram comprises a body and an end cover on the ram body that contacts the refuse during the compacting and a movable latch means accessible when the ram is at rest exteriorly of the receiver for releasably attaching this cover to the ram body.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of one embodiment thereof as shown in the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refuse compactor embodying the invention partially broken away for clarity of illustration and with the ram illustrated in partially lowered position.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view partially broken away of the lower end of the ram including the ram body cover and an intermediate flexible wiper.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through the lower end of the assembled ram at substantially the line 3--3 of FIG. 2.

A refuse compactor of the type shown herein is disclosed and claimed in the Hinkel et al. U.S. Pat. NO. 3,537,390 and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. This refuse compactor shown in the accompanying drawings comprises a cabinet 11 having a top section 12 and a bottom section 13. Located in the bottom section 13 is a refuse receptacle which in this embodiment isan open top drawer 14. This drawer includes a frontpanel 15 which when closed is the lower front of the cabinet 11 and which is movable outwardly by means of an operating handle 16 at the top of the panel 15 to expose the open top of the drawer 14 into which refuse, particularly household refuse, can be inserted for compacting.

The drawer 14 prior to use is lined with a disposable bag 17 having a top cuff l8 turned over the top edge of the drawer l4. A bag of this type is disclosed and claimed in Bottas and Difley copending application Ser. No. 874,251, filed Nov. 5, 1969. The bag ordinarily is made of plastic treated paper so as to be strong and substantially liquid proof but readily disposable with its contents of compacted refuse.

Normally positioned in the top section 12 is a compacting ram 19 which as shown in FIG. 1 is in partially lowered position. When in its normal nonoperating position, the ram 19 will be raised to its fullest extent and will be completely within the top section 12 of the cabinet 11 above the top edge of the drawer 14. Then when the compactor is activated the driving mechanism for the ram (not shown) will lower the ram with considerable pressure into the the receptacle 14 to compact refuse placed therein. This type of ram and its operation is discussed fully in the above-mentioned Hinkel et al. patent.

The ram 19 comprises a ram body 20 of generally boxlike structure having a front opening 21 which opens into a front chamber 22. The rear of the chamber 22 is defined by a vertical partition 23 located at about the center of the body 20. The ram body 20 has attached to it a bottom or end cover 24 that like the body 20 is of rectangular horizontal section and with the narrow front end 25 located immediately behind a top front panel 26 when the ram is at rest in its elevated position. The front panel 26 is mounted at the bottom for outward arcuate movement when drawer 14 is first at least partially opened to expose the front chamber 22 of the ram body and a handle 27 is provided at the top of the panel 26 for thusly moving the panel.

Located at the bottom of the ram body 20 is a bottom wall 28 beneath which the end cover 24 is arranged. Held between the upper open edge 29 of the bottom cover 24 and the wall 28 is a flexible wiper 30 of rubbery material which is either natural or synthetic rubber. This wiper blade 30 has an edge area 31 that spans the space between the ram body 20 and the inner surface of the bag 17. Such a wiper blade is disclosed and claimed in the copending Bottas and Difley application Ser. No. 876,401, filed Nov. 13, 1969 also assigned to the same assignee as the present application.

The rectangular end cover 24 is provided with thickened area 32 at each of the four corners and the top edge 29 of the cover at these corners id provided with four upwardly extending pins with one pair of pins 33 located at the front end 25 of the cover and the other pair of pins 34 located at the two rear comers. As can be seen in FIG. 3, when the wiper blade 30 and the end cover 24 are in position the pins 33 and 34 extend upwardly from the cover 24 to which they are attached through the wiper blade 30 and through the bottom wall 28 thereby serving also to hold the wiper blade 30 in operating position.

In order to attach the end cover 24 to the bottom of the ram body 20, there is provided a movable latch means 35.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 3, the latch means 35 comprises a manual operating member 36 extending through the bottom wall 28 of the ram body 20 so as to have a cover engaging portion 37 beneath the wall 28 and a handle 38 above the wall.

The rarn cover 24 is provided with a retainer 39 on its interior and beneath the ram body bottom wall 28. This retainer 39 as shown in the illustrated embodiment comprises a threaded bolt that is attached to a boss 40 integral with he cover 24 and which has a threaded upper end above the boss as shown in FIG. 3 that carries a lock nut 41 provided with a bottom flange 42. The resulting flange nut 41 is therefore adjustable so as to permit positioning it in a desired location relative to the bottom wall 28.

The movable latch means 35 is provided on its rear surface that is beneath the wall 28 with a catch portion, here shown as a rearwardly opening recess 43 with parallel top and bottom edges that engage the retainer nut 41 to hold the cover 24 attached to the ram body 20. The front portion of the cover engaging part 37 is provided with a forwardly extending bottom flange 44 spaced beneath the bottom wall 28 and wiper blade 30 so as to provide space for a compression spring 45 that has its upper end bearing against the wiper blade 30 and its lower end bearing against the flange 44. This downward pressure exerted by the spring 45 causes the downwardly bent forward end 46 of the handle 38 to bear against the upper surface of the bottom wall 28.

With the structure of this invention the refuse contacting end cover 24 on the ram 19 is latched firmly in position during use but is easily removable for cleaning, replacing or other servicing. In order to release the cover, it is only necessary that the ram be in its elevated position behind the top panel 26 and then upon opening the panel 26 about the bottom hinge after first opening the drawer 14 thus inactivating the drive mechanism the handle 38 is freely available through the front opening 21 of the ram body 20. It is only necessary for the operator to reach into e front chamber 22 and lift up the handle 38 so that the h ndle is pivoted about a rear fulcrum portion 47 that engages the rear edge 48 (FIG. 2) of the opening 49 in the bottom wall 28 through which the latch means 35 extends. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the wiper blade 30 also contains a center opening 50 adapted to coincide with the opening 48.

Upon this lifting of the handle 38 the latch 35 pivots about the fulcrum 47 compressing the spring 45 and releasing the flange 42 of the nut 41. Upon this release the end cover 24 of course drops free.

When it is desired to reattach the cover 24 and assembled wiper blade 30 to the bottom of the ram body, it is only necessary to tilt the assembly and insert the pair of front pins 33 into the corresponding openings 51 at the bottom front of the ram body 20. The end cover 24 and wiper blade 30 are held in their assembled relationship by the pins 33 and 34 engaging similar openings 52 in the wiper blade 30.

Upon rocking the cover 24 and blade 30 rearwardly and upwardly about the front pair of pins 33, the front top of the nut 41 engages a rear sloped lever surface 53. This causes the top edge of the nut 41 to force the latch 35 in a counterclockwise direction to compress the spring 45 and permit the front edge of the nut and flange 42 to snap into position within the holding recess 43 at the same time the rear pair of pins 34 enter the rear pair of openings 54 in the ram body 20. Thus the latch of this embodiment is designed for single motion release, the upward lifting of the handle 38, and a slam action locking as described.

Having described our invention as related to the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, it is our intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified.

The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed is defined as follows:

1. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver having an open top; a refuse compacting ram movable downwardly into and upwardly out of said receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and a cover on said ram comprising engaging said refuse during said movement, said ram body being disposed to be free of engagement with the refuse during compacting movement; and latch means for attaching said cover to said ram body so as to cause said cover to be withdrawn from the receiver with the ram body upon completing of the compacting operation, said latch means being selectively operable to release said cover from said ram body temporarily for maintenance purposes when desired.

2. The refuse compactor of claim 1 wherein said cover has a hollow parallelepiped configuration.

3. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver, a refuse compacting ram movable into and out of said receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and a cover on said ram body engaging said refuse during said movement; and movable latch means for releasably attaching said cover to said ram body, said ram body having a front opening through which said latch means is accessible for releasing movement thereof.

4. The refuse compactor of claim 3 wherein said ram body has a bottom wall beneath which said cover is arranged.

5. The refuse compactor of claim 4 wherein said ram body has a front opening through which said latch means is accessible for releasing movement thereof, said latch means having a manual operating member extending downwardly through said bottom wall.

6. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver; a refuse compacting rarn movable into and out of said receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and a cover on said ram body engaging said refuse during said movement; and movable latch means for releasably attaching said cover to said ram body, said ram body having a bottom wall and a front opening, said cover being arranged beneath said bottom wall, said latch means being accessible through said front opening for releasing movement thereof and having a manually operating member extending downwardly through said bottom wall, said manual operating member having a cover engaging portion beneath said wall and a handle above said wall.

7. The refuse compactor of claim 6 wherein said cover has a retainer beneath said wall and said cover engaging portion has a catch portion extending through said wall and engaging said retainer.

8. The refuse compactor of claim 7 wherein there are provided means for adjusting the position of said retainer relative to said cover.

9. The refuse compactor of claim 7 wherein said manual operating member has a fulcrum portion engaging said wall about which said manual operating member is movable into and out ofengagement with said retainer.

10. The refuse compactor of claim 9 wherein said retainer is threaded to said cover for adjusting the position of the retainer relative to said cover.

11. The refuse compactor of claim 10 wherein said retainer comprises a threaded bolt fixed to said cover and a flanged nut on said bolt.

12. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver; a refuse compacting ram movable into and out of said receiver to compact refuse therein comprisin a ram body and a hollow cover on said ram body engaging sal refuse during said move ment; and movable latch means for releasably attaching said hollow cover to said ram body.

13. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver; a refuse compacting ram movable into and out of said receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and a hollow cover on said ram body engaging said refuse during said movement; and movable latch means for releasably attaching said hollow cover to said ram body having an open top portion, and connecting means in said hollow cover, said latch means being mounted on said ram body and projecting downwardly through said open top portion of the cover to engage said connecting means.

mg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF GORRECTION Patent No. 3,613,568 Dated October 19, 1971 Inventor(s) Michael J. Bottas and Charles R. Difley and Frank E. Miller It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby correcte as shown below:

Claim 1, lines 15-16, column 3, cancel the word "comprising" and insert --body-- so that the phrase reads and a cover on said ram body engaging saici refuse......".

Signed and sealed this 25th day of April 1972.

SEAL Attest:

EDEJARD I-I.FLETCHER, JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver having an open top; a refuse compacting ram movable downwardly into and upwardly out of said receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and a cover on said ram comprising engaging said refuse during said movement, said ram body being disposed to be free of engagement with the refuse during compacting movement; and latch means for attaching said cover to said ram body so as to cause said cover to be withdrawn from the receiver with the ram body upon completing of the compacting operation, said latch means being selectively operable to release said cover from said ram body temporarily for maintenance purposes when desired.
 2. The refuse compactor of claim 1 wherein said cover has a hollow parallelepiped configuration.
 3. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver, a refuse compacting ram movable into and out of said receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and a cover on said ram body engaging said refuse during said movement; and movable latch means for releasably attaching said cover to said ram body, said ram body having a front opening through which said latch means is accessible for releasing movement thereof.
 4. The refuse compactor of claim 3 wherein said ram body has a bottom wall beneath which said cover is arranged.
 5. The refuse compactor of claim 4 wherein said ram body has a front opening through which said latch means is accessible for releasing movement thereof, said latch means having a manual operating member extending downwardly through said bottom wall.
 6. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver; a refuse compacting ram movable into and out of said receiver to compact refuse therein cOmprising a ram body and a cover on said ram body engaging said refuse during said movement; and movable latch means for releasably attaching said cover to said ram body, said ram body having a bottom wall and a front opening, said cover being arranged beneath said bottom wall, said latch means being accessible through said front opening for releasing movement thereof and having a manually operating member extending downwardly through said bottom wall, said manual operating member having a cover engaging portion beneath said wall and a handle above said wall.
 7. The refuse compactor of claim 6 wherein said cover has a retainer beneath said wall and said cover engaging portion has a catch portion extending through said wall and engaging said retainer.
 8. The refuse compactor of claim 7 wherein there are provided means for adjusting the position of said retainer relative to said cover.
 9. The refuse compactor of claim 7 wherein said manual operating member has a fulcrum portion engaging said wall about which said manual operating member is movable into and out of engagement with said retainer.
 10. The refuse compactor of claim 9 wherein said retainer is threaded to said cover for adjusting the position of the retainer relative to said cover.
 11. The refuse compactor of claim 10 wherein said retainer comprises a threaded bolt fixed to said cover and a flanged nut on said bolt.
 12. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver; a refuse compacting ram movable into and out of said receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and a hollow cover on said ram body engaging said refuse during said movement; and movable latch means for releasably attaching said hollow cover to said ram body.
 13. A refuse compactor comprising: a refuse receiver; a refuse compacting ram movable into and out of said receiver to compact refuse therein comprising a ram body and a hollow cover on said ram body engaging said refuse during said movement; and movable latch means for releasably attaching said hollow cover to said ram body having an open top portion, and connecting means in said hollow cover, said latch means being mounted on said ram body and projecting downwardly through said open top portion of the cover to engage said connecting means. 